The following disclosure relates to devices having one or more drawers and a sliding tray in one of the drawers, the sliding tray being adaptable for providing access to a lockable portion of the drawer and for locking into a position to prevent access to the lockable portion of the drawer. The following disclosure has particular application to apparatus and methods for providing a lockable storage space inside a drawer of a multiple-drawer cabinet.
Various types of multiple-drawer cabinets, such as cabinets for storing mechanics"" tools and the like, are provided with various apparatus for locking or otherwise securing the drawers to prevent theft. However, it is often necessary to leave such cabinets unlocked to allow others to have access to the tools and other devices stored therein. Nevertheless, the owner of the cabinet may have certain possessions in the cabinet that he wants to deny access to. Such possessions may include, for example, a wallet, keys, money, or other valuables or personal items that are sometimes stored during work hours. Other items may include particularly expensive tools, batteries, or a variety of other expensive, consumable, or hard-to-find items.
The disclosed apparatus and method avoid some of the disadvantages of prior devices and methods while affording additional structural and operating advantages.
One form of the disclosed drawer has a lockable compartment comprising a portion of the drawer, closeable by a cover that comprises a sliding tray.
One form of the disclosed drawer has a lock coupled to the sliding tray and locked such that a lock bolt may be coupled to a partition or other part of the drawer.
In one embodiment, a drawer comprises a bottom wall, an upstanding peripheral wall structure integral with the bottom wall and having an upper edge, a partition extending across opposed portions of the peripheral wall structure for cooperation therewith and with the bottom wall to define a compartment, and a tray mountable on the peripheral wall structure for movement between an open position uncovering the compartment and a closed position covering the compartment, the tray having a bottom wall disposed below the upper edge of the peripheral wall structure.
The disclosed cabinet and lockable compartment comprise certain novel features and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that various changes in the details may be made without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the disclosed drawer and lockable compartment.